


Awake

by kitestrings



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 13:11:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8668861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitestrings/pseuds/kitestrings
Summary: (Raven gave a small a laugh, almost in spite of herself, then sighed. “There are a lot of strange things about living in the kingdoms. I’m still not used to eating meals, and I can’t sleep at night. But you, Summer Rose,” she leaned towards her as well, so that their faces were only inches apart, “You are the greatest mystery I’ve ever encountered.”)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Freffers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freffers/gifts).



> This sat forever in my drafts, unfinished until recently. Hope you enjoy! :')

                Summer always knew when Raven couldn’t sleep.

                She was a light sleeper to begin with, awoken often by the coughs, sneezes and assorted other noises that naturally occurred in a dorm full of students. Her condition was amplified by the fact that Team STRQ had opted in favor of sharing two large beds this year, in order to use their space more efficiently than four individual beds allowed. So Summer felt Raven’s every movement, every toss and turn in intimate detail.

                Most nights Raven would wake up after a period of restless sleep, during which she had awoken Summer as well. Raven would eventually sit up, then after a while leave their room, still dressed in the soft t-shirt and shorts that she slept in. Qrow had explained to Summer that Raven had taken on the role of protector since they were very young children, and had never really learned to sleep peacefully. He, too, sometimes spent nights awake, but he chose to read out on the balcony by candlelight.

                Summer always felt the urge to reach out to Raven and help her when she couldn’t sleep. She didn’t know what to do, though, so she would pretend to be asleep when she left. She always came back, sometimes what seemed like hours later, and Summer would be filled with relief.

                But this time was different. Summer was softly jerked into consciousness not by Raven’s movements, but a sound. Through her sleepy haze she couldn’t initially identify it, partly because she had never heard it before—Raven was crying.

                Just as Summer mustered up the courage to physically reach out to her, Raven stood up suddenly, dressed herself completely and walked out the door. When she thought she couldn’t possibly any more worried, she heard the distinctive click of Raven locking the door behind her. Summer jumped out of bed and put her white cloak on over her pajamas, very quietly slipping out the door. 

                Down the hallway, she heard Raven making her way up the stairwell. Summer pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. It wouldn’t do a bit of good to help her sneak up on Raven, but it made her feel better. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she approached the stairs. To say that Raven shedding tears was a strange occurrence was putting it lightly. It was damn near apocalyptic.

                She counted Raven’s footsteps while following her at a safe distance. She was heading to the roof. Fear began to wash over Summer. All she wanted was to be back in bed, falling asleep to the feeling of Raven’s soft breath on her face. Would Raven lash out at her for intruding on her moment of vulnerability? The question burned in her mind as she pushed open the door to the roof, but it was far too late now.  

                The cool fall air hit her like a blast to the face, so it was a moment or two before Summer could take in the scene before her. When she blinked the dust out of her eyes, she could see Raven silhouetted against the night sky, turned to face her. The sound of the door opening had pierced the silence of the night, and wasted any ounce of stealth that she had achieved.

                “I’m sorry,” Summer said, panicking, “I just—“

                “No, no, I’m sorry I woke you,” Raven said, breaking eye contact. In the moonlight, Summer could see that her face was still shiny with tears. “Aren’t you cold? Come here,” she said, gesturing to Summer’s ensemble.

                Summer blushed, and obliged. Raven tugged Summer’s cloak around her shoulders, wrapping her up in it. She held her by her upper arms for a very long moment.

                “You know, sometimes I think you spend so much time taking care of us that you forget to take care of yourself,” Raven sighed, reaching up as if to touch Summer’s face, but stopping. “Why did you follow me up here?”

                “I—um—“ Summer felt incapable of speech. In spite of the cold, her body was positively buzzing with warmth. “I was worried about you,” she said finally.

                “You know I don’t want anyone to worry about me,” Raven said, pulling back, “especially you.”

                Summer offered her a half-smirk, half-smile. “Well, that’s not really up to you,” she explained, offering her hand. She expected Raven to refuse it, to push her away and fly off into the night. But she didn’t. She took it, and together they sat down near the edge of the roof.

                Summer didn’t let go of her hand, and prayed that Raven wouldn’t either. “I’m always going to worry about you, you know? No matter what happens,” Summer said, leaning over slightly to look at Raven’s deep red eyes. She was staring off into the distance, with a familiar ‘far away’ look that Summer was used to seeing.

                “Really?” Raven asked, but before Summer could answer, she continued, “It’s nothing, honestly. I just, uh, had a bad dream.” Summer could feel her pulling away again, as she had so many times before. She felt desperate, like she would do or say anything to keep Raven there with her in that moment.

                “Do you…want to talk about it?” she said, leaning just a bit closer to Raven.

                Raven gave a small a laugh, almost in spite of herself, then sighed. “There are a lot of strange things about living in the kingdoms. I’m still not used to eating meals, and I can’t sleep at night. But you, Summer Rose,” she leaned towards her as well, so that their faces were only inches apart, “You are the greatest mystery I’ve ever encountered.”

                Summer suddenly forgot how to breathe. “Really? Uh—I mean, why—why is that?” She stammered. Raven was perfect from afar, but now that they were closer than ever Summer could see that her skin was marred by the scars and blemishes of her rough upbringing. By contrast Summer’s skin was soft, untested by the world. Still, Raven held her hand with absolute tenderness.

                She held their eye contact in a very intense way, not backing away and barely blinking. “Outside the kingdoms, it’s everyone for themselves. You can’t afford to spend time thinking about other people, because you’re vulnerable the moment you do. In the kingdoms, it’s not really different, except that people pretend it is. They pay taxes and tell themselves that they’re doing good things for other people when they’re really not,” she explained, letting out some pent up frustration. But then her face softened, and she gave a half-smile, “except for you, Summer Rose.”

                Summer closed her eyes slowly, then opened them again to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. No, she could feel Raven’s soft breathing on her face, just like she had wished earlier. But they weren’t lying in their shared bed, they were wide awake. She was utterly lost in Raven’s eyes.

                “You saved me and Qrow…that first day in the Emerald Forest. That other team had decided we didn’t belong at Beacon. It would have been a lot easier for you to look the other way, but you didn’t,” Raven said, looking just a bit confused, as if she still didn’t understand why Summer did what she did. She laughed, in a very self-deprecating way, “Even now you followed me up here because you were worried about me, and I’ve done nothing but dump my problems on you. You deserve better—better than me.” Raven’s face seemed to be crushed under the weight of her own self-doubt.

                “No, no, that’s so silly,” Summer said. She found the strength to speak somewhere deep inside, even though her whole body felt like she was floating on clouds. At the same time, she was hyper aware of every fiber of her being, every inch of her body that was coming into contact with Raven’s. She was still grasping her hand, and they were sitting close enough now that their thighs were touching. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you talk this much at once, let alone talk about your feelings. It…it’s a treat,” she smiled, “I feel…honored just to listen to you.”

                “If that’s the case, you’ve more than earned it,” Raven replied with a smile, but it faded. She turned her head very slightly to stare at the sky. All the while, Summer couldn’t take her eyes off Raven’s. “I think about leaving a lot. Qrow adjusted so well and I—“ her voice faltered, “—I still don’t feel like I belong here. This life just doesn’t make sense to me, and it feels like—like I’m stealing something I don’t deserve. So I think about just flying away, and how far I could get before someone noticed I was gone.”

                “Not far,” Summer whispered, with a smile. Raven seemed to reach up to touch Summer’s face, stopping herself at the last second again. But she was ready this time. She grabbed Raven’s hand as it began to fall, and placed it on her cheek where it belonged.

                Raven’s face changed, to her soft, full smile that was so rare. “Not far at all,” she whispered back. As Summer closed her eyes, she felt Raven’s nose brush against hers for a moment, before they closed the gap between their lips.

                The kiss was everything all at once. It was like a great sigh of relief, like something that had been held deep in Summer’s heart was finally set free. She could feel it growing inside her like a fire, until she could contain it no longer. With her free hand she ran her fingers through Raven’s thick black hair, which she had wanted to do from the moment she saw her.

                In every other aspect of her life, Raven was forceful, rough, and sometimes aggressive. But she kissed Summer so delicately, as if she was afraid she might break her. When she moved her hand down to rest on Raven’s thigh, Summer could feel her quivering.

                Summer pulled away for a moment, placing her hand back in Raven’s hair, lightly brushing past her ear. Raven opened her eyes slowly, and Summer was overwhelmed with her beauty all over again. “Is everything okay?” Summer asked. In all their time together, she had never seen Raven shake from fear or cold or anything.

                “Everything is…perfect,” Raven whispered back. The last word was like a sigh, a soft confession that made Summer’s heart race and her head spin. This time Raven pulled her in, with her hand still on Summer’s cheek.

                The feeling like fire continued to grow in her chest. She couldn’t believe she was kissing Raven the way she had imagined so many times, lying awake in their shared bed. She knew that Raven felt it, too, when she let go of Summer’s hand and placed it on her waist instead. She placed placed her free hand on the ground behind Raven, so she could move closer. Raven took it a step further, gently leaning back and pulling Summer down on top of her.

                Completely surprised by the motion, her eyes flew open and she nearly fell. Raven laughed, in much different way than she had before. This sound was pure and beautiful, not at all self-deprecating or critical. “You are adorable, you always have been,” Raven said, reaching up to touch her hair. Summer blushed. She lowered herself down tentatively, admiring the way their bodies fit together. She returned to brush their noses together, reveling in the anticipation. That feeling was something to be savored now that she knew the kiss was inevitable. She felt Raven’s chest rise and fall in a sigh of relief, blinking slowly as she and Summer gazed at one another. Could it be that Raven had been longing for her as well? She couldn’t believe it, but that certainly seemed to be the case.

                This time when their lips met, it was stronger, more forceful. Having Raven’s body pressed up against hers had ignited something within Summer, something that overruled tenderness. Moving forward with this new confidence, she grazed her lips across Raven’s cheek, then planted a few kisses in the tender place where her neck met her shoulder. Summer had heard Raven gasp in pain countless times since initiation, but never had she heard her gasp with pleasure. It was invigorating, sending chills through her that had nothing to do with the cool night air. Emboldened by her reaction, Summer continued, and Raven’s second gasp turned into a nervous laugh.

                “Here I thought I knew you, Rose,” she said.

                “You do,” she replied, her voice breathy. Summer could barely suppress the urge to laugh herself, in the way she did when she couldn’t believe something was actually happening. Just to check, she returned to gaze into Raven’s dark red eyes. A smile spread across her face as Summer brushed her dark bangs away from them. No, this was real after all.

                “Not like this,” Raven said, wrapping her right arm around Summer’s waist, trying to pull her closer somehow.

                “Would you…like to?” She asked, suddenly cautious. Summer had approached Raven on the dark rooftop with the intention of comforting her. Now she was on top of her, wondering if she had, in fact, done something wrong.

                But Raven just smiled. “I would,” she said softly. A small nervous chuckle escaped from Summer, giddy with relief. Though their eyes were closed their hands found one another, their fingers interlocking as Summer surrendered her weight to gravity, letting her body fall into Raven’s completely.

                “Wait,” Summer said, breaking their kiss. Raven blinked, looking concerned. “No, it’s not that,” she continued, realizing that Raven probably assumed it had something to do with the fact that she had just had her tongue in Summer’s mouth. “I should take a turn on the ground, I have a cloak, after all.” She tugged very gently on Raven’s shirt, hoping they could change positions without losing the feeling she had right now.

                Raven shook her head, and Summer was worried for a moment. “For you, Summer, I’ll happily lay on the ground,” she said. Still holding onto her waist, she rolled the both of them a quarter turn, so they were both laying on their side. As she tucked her red and black hair behind her ear, she said, “But if you insist, we can do it together.”

                They both laughed. Their hands wandered now, touching one another as softly as they could manage. Summer stole one last kiss before she let doubt overcome her once more. “What…now?” She asked.

                “What now?” Raven repeated, not understanding the question.

                It took Summer a moment to gather her thoughts. Never in her fantasies about Raven had she made it this far. “What…what about our team? What about Taiyang? What about _Qrow?_ ” She asked, startled by her own realizations as the words left her mouth. Qrow was her friend, but how would he feel about her being with his sister in this way?

                “Don’t worry about that now,” Raven said, her hand resting gently on the side of Summer’s ribcage. She seemed to sense that that wasn’t good enough, so she continued, “Outside the kingdoms, I learned to hold onto every moment of happiness I could find, without worrying when it was going to end.”

                “But I don’t want it to end,” Summer said, letting just a little bit of desperation through into her voice.

                “Then we won’t let it,” she replied, without giving her a moment to doubt herself any further. “You know, we could always fly away,” she added, leaning in to kiss her on the nose.

                “Together?” Summer said, savoring the idea as long as she could.

                Raven nodded, “Together.” 


End file.
